And Now We're Stuck Together
by HimekoUchia
Summary: The council has made its decision. Gaara is to be eliminated once and for all. By the one person who can control his sand. The Kazekage drags his son to the Land of Lightning, away from his siblings' protective eyes, planning on finally assassinating him with his own two hands. That is, if he can bring himself to do it. *Sequel to And Now I'm Stuck Here With You*
1. One Man

**This is a sequel to And Now I'm Stuck Here With You! You probably have to read it before this, or everyone will seem OOC to you. I'm making it a sequel instead of a continuation because the focus is no longer on the Sandsibs, but just on Gaara and the Kazekage.**  
**In case you have not read ANIMSHWY and really can't be bothered to do so, here's a brief summary:**  
**Gaara (pre-chuunin state), Temari, Kankuro get shipwrecked onto a deserted island. We later find out that it was the Kazekage's doing (he ordered the ship to be sunk, even if there were passengers on the boat). The siblings have to learn to survive and trust each other. Crazy stuff happens**  
**Eventually, they get rescued and the Kazekage is pissed, but secretly glad. Gaara becomes nicer (just a little less nice than post-chuunin).**  
**Whoah, doesn't that sound cool? Do you want to read it (shameless advertising)?**

**So, enjoy this short sequel! The chapters will be slightly shorter so that updates can be more frequent.**

* * *

A month after the village had found out that Gaara and his siblings were the only ones to survive the shipwreck, the loud fury of Sunagakure had finally died down to a silent glare of hatred whenever they saw the redhead pass. The boy was extremely relieved, since this type of abuse was easier to handle than having people act so violent at the mere site of him that he had to be escorted everywhere by Baki.

Little by little, the villagers relaxed their intense animosity to angry indifference. Life was going back to normal for everyone.  
That is, everyone except for the Kazekage.  
He couldn't look at his children in the eye without feeling a huge stab of guilt when he saw the disgust and accusations in their gaze. He had tried to murder them. They probably despised him and he didn't blame them.  
He couldn't speak to them individually either because they always stood together as a team, now more united than ever. The Kazekage would never admit it even to himself, but he couldn't help being a little scared of his kids. They were so powerful, their teamwork was incredible.

They probably knew. They probably knew that he was the one who ordered the ship to be sabotaged in the first place. He was almost sure that Baki knew as well, but he couldn't confirm it.  
Well, he could, if only Yuudai and Reina would admit it. Their brother, Jiro, had been the one sent to destroy the ship, but he had not been able to make it out of the ship alive. Though they were loyal to their duties as shinobi, they openly despised him for all that he had done.  
The Kazekage had planned on eliminating them once he got the chance, however Reina had blackmailed the man into keeping them alive. She said that she and her brother had a told the truth to a number of people and, in case of their disappearance, those people would immediately broadcast the truth to the entire village, which would cause a horrible power struggle and most likely end in the Kazekage's execution. Not to mention damage the village's reputation.  
If they knew that the leader of Sunakagure planned on murdering a group of civilians and his three kids just to get rid of his youngest son, it would be the end of him.  
He hadn't even been able to succeed. His children had been the only survivors. This left him torn between sighing in relief or punching holes through his office wall.

The worst part in all of this was the council. They had been complaining that Gaara was still a threat. That the village had caused an uproar at his return. That all of that resentment could cause them to lose influence. That the population was demanding complete safety. That they wanted him gone again.  
The Kazekage had tried to calm his fury and tried not to hit the older council member in the face when they casually threw around words like "failure", "demon", "monster", "brat" or "danger" into his face. It was one thing for him to criticize his own son's lack of control, but an entirely other thing if a bunch of old men insulted his family for the heck of it.  
It was his 'single father' side of him resurfacing, though it was obviously too late and bad timing.

So he kept his mouth shut at all of the meetings, hearing the council decide on his son's fate.  
"Lord Kazekage, we have come to a decision. The jinchuriki must be eliminated."  
The man felt his skin crawl at those words. A naïve part of him was hoping that the council would just leave it all behind them and let his son live in peace from now on. Of course they wouldn't.  
He carefully thought of a reply.  
"In all due respect... I believe that the boy might have changed. He seems to have gained new control and to have lost quite a lot of his bloodlust. He might no longer be a danger to us. He is going to be taking the next chuunin exams, could be an ideal weapon to show off to the other nations and could prove the power of Suna, which will in turn bring lords to hire shinobi from our village again."

His son seemed... different. He couldn't place how, since he hadn't spent more than a few seconds in the same room as him in the last few weeks combined. It could be the smiles that his siblings would show him or the constant social events they would attend at Reina and Yuudai's house.  
He didn't want to send more people to kill his son if he could avoid it. It was bad enough to nearly lose him once. He didn't want to waste his wife's and son's life if the boy could still be of good use to the village.  
"I'm sorry, Kazekage-sama. Our decision is final. The boy must disappear. We urge you to use... any means necessary." said one of the old men.  
The Kazekage frowned.  
"What do you mean? I've tried almost every way. That boy is difficult to kill, and we are running low on shinobi. It would be foolish to waste any more lives on trying to assassinate someone who is clearly superior in power to most in the village."

The looks he received chilled him to the bone. He suddenly had a bad feeling that he knew what they were about to suggest.  
"No, Lord Kazekage, you haven't tried every way possible. We all know that there are many capable shinobi who would gladly to their duties. And... We all know for _sure_ that there is at least _one _shinobi in this village that can control his sand. Do everything you can. For the village. It is your duty."

The man was shocked for a second, before slowly nodding.  
He was glad when the meeting ended not long after that, as he had a painful urge to be sick.

Yes. Many would gladly line up to kill his son. However, the people he had in mind were all sickeningly sadistic and would enjoy taking their time, hacking their victim to pieces. Having his boy killed was one thing, but the thought of Gaara being slowly tortured to death, writhing in agony...  
It made a sick feeling rise in the Kazekage's gut. No. He could never allow that. Over his own dead body. He had that much humanity left, after all.  
Besides, it was still highly probable that Gaara would simply crush the assassins to death with his sand.  
That sand. That sand always got in the way.

That reminded the Kazekage of the council's second suggestion. That there was one ninja in the village who could control and disable Gaara's sand. They were correct.  
However, that man had been too much of a coward to face the boy himself, after all these years of sending other people to their deaths during the assassination attempts.

That man was him.

He had always known that he could have simply killed Gaara with his own two hands and that would be the end of it. But that was the reason that he had never attempted it. He was scared. He was terrified of seeing that look in Gaara's eyes if he were to ever lift a hand against him.  
Despite his horribly emotionally abusive education, he had never directly, physically hurt Gaara before. It was partly because the boy's training mostly required he kept the sand under control and hitting the redhead would have just caused him to lose whatever focus he had.  
Truthfully, the main reason was because he had never wanted to.  
The looks of terror and disgust were powerful enough as they were. He was already a monster. He didn't want to be a man who beat his kids. Besides, it had never been an issue before the 'incident' with Yashamaru happened. His children had always behaved correctly.

Especially Gaara. The Kazekage's heart clenched when he remember how his son was before he had betrayed him. So kind. So loving. So trusting. Simply a perfect little angel.  
An angel who had been taken over by the demon that his father had sealed into him, taking his mother's life. He had corrupted a pure soul and turned it into the killing machine that so many people feared, a machine with Death's eyes.

However, this was why the Kazekage was terrified of meeting Gaara's gaze now. He had seen his eyes. They were no longer hateful or filled with bloodlust. They were now filled with mistrust and determination.  
The man could never bring himself to hurt Gaara now. He now reminded him once again of that young, innocent boy he once was. Only stronger and slightly more mature from experience.  
The Kazekage could never murder his son with his own two hands.

But he had to.

* * *

A few days later, he was summoned to the Land of Lighting by the Raikage for a short meeting. It was about winter. The cold season had arrived, thought the population of Sunagakure noticed nothing more than slightly cooler nights. However, in the Land of Lighting, it snowed. A lot.  
That meant that quite a lot of clean water would probably be going to waste, so that was why the Kazekage had asked to meet the leader of the Village Hidden in the Clouds. He was going to strike up a deal, asking for clean water and in exchange giving the Raikage gold. Since gold was the only thing his village currently had to offer.

The Kazekage had refused to have any of his jonins escort him and instead asked the council to let him bring Suna's greatest defense as protection.  
After a knowing look, the council had understood his intentions and accepted to let him go in those conditions. If Gaara accompanied him to a place filled with snow and rain, his sand would be useless.  
So the Kazekage decided to kill two birds with one stone.

Taking a deep breath and numbing his heart, he turned to the a jonin who had came to him to file a mission report.  
"Go find Gaara. Tell him that the Kazekage is requesting him." he spoke cooly.  
The man bowed quickly and left, leaving the village leader to decide how he would convince Baki, Temari and Kankuro to let Gaara out of their sights.

* * *

**I'm surprised that do one ever wrote a story like this before. Or maybe they did but I missed it (highly improbable, since I have read almost all the Kazekage fics).  
So, hope you liked it! Review if you feel like it! If you're here from ANISHWY, welcome back! For newcomers, welcome welcome!  
And now, to my Geography homework!  
XOXO ~~~ HimekoUchia (aaarrrrhhgggghggh *drowns under mountains of exams*)**


	2. All The Rage

**Hiya! Happy new year a little late guys!  
Back to school, getting my IGCSE mock exams results :) I'm glad to see that staying at home writing fanfiction instead of partying every week has payed off in the long run! I'm pretty happy :)  
I was happy dancing when I read all of your positive responses to the first chapter of this story! I will be much shorter than the prequel and will have about half the number of chapter as ANISHWY.  
I always fear making characters too OOC... But the way I see it, ninja = humans = have breaking points.  
With that said, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

A knock sounded on the Kazekage's door.

"Come in." he answered curtly, as he eyed the small redhead slowly entering the room.  
"You called, Lord Kazekage?" responded Gaara, with nothing but his usual chill lacing his voice.

"Yes. I did." the man said. He straightened the papers on his desk, not looking at his son in the eye. "You are leaving immediately for a training mission without your team in the Land of Lightning. It is an A-ranked mission."

The boy frowned.  
"And who will be training me?"  
Gaara didn't know any jonin apart from Baki could spar against without shivering in fear.  
"Myself, of course." The Kazekage kept his face emotionless, letting the words sink in.

When they did, the redhead unconsciously took a step back. His green eyes glazed over in fear for a second, before he shoved his mask back on.  
"I presume that you have a meeting with the Raikage and I am supposed to be your bodyguard?" asked Gaara.  
His father let a small smirk appear on his face. What a smart boy.  
"Correct. We are going to discuss our water supply for the coming winter. You will be the only one to accompany me and I will see to your training. Just like old times."

He saw his son's body tense, a slight look of disgust appearing in his face when he heard his father's last sentence. Even the Kazekage had to admit that it was quite a low blow on his part but he couldn't help himself. He was in a foul mood since he had received his assignment from the council.  
Gaara obviously had an idea what was going on and didn't like it one bit. However, he couldn't disobey a direct order from his superior.  
"I see. I will go pack." eventually replied the boy.  
"Yes. You may take your gourd, of course. You are dismissed."  
As the jinchuuriki turned to leave, he suddenly froze in his step, as if he just remembered something.

"Winter. During winter, it snows in the Land of Lightning." stated the redhead, pressing his lips together because he knew that his father couldn't see his face.  
"That is obvious. That is why we are going to trade water with that country." replied the Kazekage, clenching and unclenching his fists.  
"That will make my sand... useless. Any training will be in vain."  
"There is a high chance that your sand will be rendered useless, that is true. However, I will be carrying gold with me at all time to ensure safety. I presume that you know how to throw kunai, yes?" asked the man, not able to stop the cruel taunt from escaping his lips.  
"Of course." Gaara's voice trembled slightly, but the rest of his face was calm.  
"Then you can still be useful. In event that your sand and armor were to... melt away... I will be training your taijutsu instead." The Kazekage didn't know that it would be this difficult to lie to his son. Gaara wasn't an idiot and telling him that it was his job to kill the boy, no matter how indirectly, made a sick feeling rise in the chest of both males.

After a few seconds of painful silence, Gaara nodded.  
"I see."  
"You are dismissed." repeated the Kazekage. He watched his son open the door and leave. The boy put on a blank, brave face but his father saw the slight tremble in his hands.  
It killed another piece of his soul.  
As was required when one was a shinobi.

* * *

"What did he want?" frowned Kankuro, ushering Gaara into his room where Baki and Temari were sat.

Gaara gave his teammates a long, dead look, making them fear the worse.  
And it was the worse.  
"The Kazekage wants me to go on a training mission with him. Alone. To the Land of Lighting. And it's going to snow..." the redhead took a steady breath.

Everyone's eyes widened in horror.  
"WHAT?" gasped Baki. "He can't do that!"  
"Yes. Yes he can. And I will go. It was a direct order."  
Gaara slowly walked over to Kankuro's bed and sat on it, crossing his arms.  
He looked up at his team with a look in his eyes that made all of their hearts crack into a million pieces.  
"I don't want to die. But if I do..." Gaara swallowed. It wasn't easy for him to admit this out loud. "... I want you to know that I am glad that we were all on the same team. Even in my death, I hope that you all know that I will always give you... give you medicine."

"Shut up!" suddenly shouted Temari. "Don't talk like that, Gaara! You're not going to die! You're not leaving on that mission."  
"I am. I don't want any more trouble with the council. I will prove to the Kazekage that I have full control over Shukaku. I have control. I know I do. And I will prove it so that he won't have to... to kill me..." Gaara's voice faded. He hated being so helpless. He didn't know what else he could do except beg Kami-sama that his father would give him another chance.  
He didn't want his existence to be ripped away from him. He had lost too much. He wasn't going to give up his life so easily to the man that kept stealing everything he had away from him. A sudden surge of pure hate filled his heart. If he was going down, he wasn't going down without a bloody fight.  
It didn't matter that he wouldn't have sand. Or his team.  
He wanted to live and nothing was going to stop him from doing all that he could do to get what he wanted.

"This is bullshit. He's just a genin! He can't be a bodyguard!" hissed Kankuro, turning to face Baki. "Sensei..."  
The jonin took one last look and the angered faces of Temari and Kankuro and at the determined look in Gaara's eyes before rushing out the door and to his superior's office. He wasn't going to let his boss send Gaara to his death. Not again.

* * *

The Kazekage was placing the last scroll in his traveling pack when a loud knock sounded on the door.

"Come in, Baki-san." said the village leader, watching as the jonin's face as he stormed into the room. Despite decades of emotional training, Baki's fury was evident on his face.

"You..." hissed the man, formalities flying out the window.  
"Me..." replied the Kazekage, standing up straighter to remind Baki to whom he was speaking to.  
"I refuse to let my student go on such a dangerous mission." said the jonin angrily.  
"Dangerous? I, the Kazekage, will be with him. How could he be in danger?" asked the man, his fingers twitching to punch his soldier in the face.  
"You're the danger and we both know it!" growled Baki.  
"When have I ever been dangerous to Gaara?" seethed the Kazekage, almost laughing at the ironic atrocity he had just spoken.

Baki walked up to his boss and stared at him straight in the eye.  
"I know the truth, Kazekage_-sama_. I know that you sunk the ship to murder Gaara. And I'm not the only one who knows... Like Reina and Yuudai, if any of us are killed, the others will reveal that you are an absolute fraud."  
This was the last straw for the Kazekage. He roughly grabbed the front of Baki's shirt and tugged him forward so that their faces were inches apart.

"HOW DARE YOU! I am your superior! This is none of your concern!" he shouted.  
How dare this man put him in this position? The council was hard enough on him without him having to worry about Baki as well!  
"It is! I care about them as if they were my children! You hate them! I am their leader! I have a say in this!" snapped the jonin.

The room was filled with a deadly silence as the words registered.  
For a fraction of a second, the Kazekage was mortified. Then, a fire of pure rage exploded in his heart.  
He shoved Baki to the floor.  
"Shut up... Just shut up. They are_ my_ children. Stay away from them! _I_ am their father! _I_ am Gaara's father! I LOVE HIM MORE THAN YOU DO AND THIS HURTS ME MORE THAN IT HURTS YOU!" suddenly screamed the Kazekage, making the color drain out of Baki's face.  
Baki had previously thought that his leader was a emotionless bastard. However, he now realized that he was just a bastard who might actually care about his children. He watched in silence as the Kazekage sat himself behind his desk, a cold look on his face.  
"So any decision I make... About my son.. About my village... BOTH are my responsibility and Not. You. Business. I have thought everything through. I have made the best choice for my village." finished the leader.

Baki stood up and faced the other man, running out of things to say.  
"Please, give Gaara another chance. He's different. He changed."  
The Kazekage slammed his fist on the table.  
"Enough. What even made you assume that I would be hurting Gaara? It's just a meeting with the Raikage where I can show off how powerful the youth of Suna is."  
Baki frowned.  
"My lord... Why can't you take someone else?"

"Because I can't leave Gaara in the village when I am not around! What do you think the council would do in my absence? They want him gone. Even for a little while, it would ease some of the tension." spat the Kazekage, omitting out the fact that the council wanted his son to disappear for a very, very long time. The man noticed that saying something even partly true for once eased some of the guilt and burden off of his shoulders.  
However, any feeling of relief was crushed by anger.

Right now, staring at Baki's concerned face... He wanted to kill the jonin so much. He had never hated someone so much in his entire life, bar the council. He realized that, once again, someone was doing his job much, much better than he was.  
Someone was being a better father and carer to his kids than he ever was.  
His children hated him. They preferred Baki so much more. They probably wished that the jonin was their father instead.  
Oh, how that pissed him off.

"Now be gone." He growled. "I've got to finish packing. Tell Gaara to be at the village gates in ten minutes."  
Baki gave his boss a look that was a mix of defeat, loathing and pity.  
"Very well, lord Kazekage." the man bowed and exited the room.

The village leader watched him leave and then massaged the bridge of his nose.  
That did not go as well as planned. He had lost control of his emotions and it was humiliating for a person at his level. He couldn't help himself, though. All of these meetings and thinking about what he had to do to his son had left him with more nightmares and insomnia. He was starting to look even more like Gaara.  
He had snapped at Baki. Out of indignation for his meddling and lack of comprehension. Out of jealousy for being more liked by his children.  
All of these feelings were absurd and the Kazekage knew that. After all, he had been the one to destroy his family so he only had himself to blame.

He sighed and stood up.  
"At least I can do my job as the Kazekage." he muttered, stuffing his pouch of gold into his traveling pack. "I haven't murdered any of those geezers at the council yet, so I can say that I'm damn good at it, actually."

* * *

Baki felt sick to his stomach when he had to tell Gaara that there was nothing that he could do to change the Kazekage's mind. He had failed his student. The boy was probably going to be murdered.  
The jinchuuriki had just nodded, having packed and accepted his fate quite some time ago.

Temari, Kankuro and Baki accompanied Gaara to the village gates. The villagers silently moved out of their way and watched as the redhead joined his father at the exit of Sunagakure.  
"Do you have everything you would need?" asked the man, eying Gaara's empty hands and lack of backpack.  
The boy wordlessly pointed to his gourd to indicate that he had used it as a storage compartment as well as a weapon.  
"OK. Let's go." commanded the Kazekage.

The pair walked between the two large sand walls that separated them from the outside world.  
When the adult turned his head to glance over his shoulder and realized with horror that Reina was now standing besides Baki.  
The two jonins, Temari and Kankuro were glaring holes at him. The meaning behind those looks were clear.  
'We stand by Gaara. If he doesn't come back unharmed, you will deal with us...'

The Kazekage feared that, no matter what he could do, he was going to lose.

* * *

**I love bullying the Kazekage. His character pissed me off so much yet endeared me at the same time. I see him as such a pitiful guy, really. Just a mere puppet of the hardcore Sunagakure council and a terrible daddy. And now, he's stuck knee deep in crap. Hahahaha that's what you get for messing around with everyone and lying to yourself your whole life :)**

**If anyone finds the people too OOC or have a complaint to lodge, I am ready to gladly justify myself and maybe clear things up ;p. Yeah, you kinda get good at that after being a fanfic writer for years. I don't mind explaining things that leave you skeptic. In my head, it makes sense...  
I don't know what that mini-rant was about... I'm not even complaining about anything that happened...**

**WELL with that I hope you enjoyed the second chapter of ANWST! Leave a review if you wanna ask something or make me smile :). Oh, and also reminding all the TBP readers to go vote on my poll (please do)!**

**Have a nice day guys!**  
**Hugs, kisses and-... whoah! Was that Marley's ghosts?**  
**XOXO ~~~ HimekoUchia (ahah sorry, it's a drama thing)**


	3. A Team

**Hello there long time no see! *gets stabbed with a marker*  
Apologies for the ghastly delay. I've got a list of excuses that range from absolutely crappy to mildly acceptable. I won't keep you waiting for long, so if you want to see my justification of travel time, it is in the author's note at the end of the chapter :)  
So, recap, Gaara and his father leave on the trip to the Land of Lightning. I don't know anything. Read on!**

* * *

"How long is the trip to the Land of Lightning?" asked Gaara cautiously, as he and the Kazekage passed the imaginary line that indicated that they were officially out of Suna's territory.

The redhead had never traveled as far as the Land of Lightning before. The furthest he had ever gone by foot was to the small pier that Sunagakure owned next to the eastern border of the Land of Fire. The one where his father had sent him out to his death.  
That trip had only been a little longer than two days, thanks to the fact that the roads were flat and Suna shinobi were used to traveling in harsh, sleep-deprived conditions (or, in his case, complete insomnia).

However, Gaara knew that the journey to Kumogakure was much longer and far more perilous. His father confirmed his fears.  
"About seven days, that is including stops and training sessions. We will stop once in the River Country, four times in the Land of Fire, once of the border between the Waterfall Country and the Frost Country. We will then have one stop in the Lightning country before arriving in the shinobi village and meeting the Raikage. We have the passports and visas to pass through border controls if we were to meet any. Otherwise, we will be slipping through the countries and keeping a low profile." explained the Kazekage. He noticed that speaking to Gaara as his boss was much easier than trying to act like a parent.

Gaara nodded, his face blank.  
"I see. Will we be camping every night? It is far colder up north than it is here." pointed out the redhead.  
"We will be staying in small inns for most of the nights and replenish our foods supplies as well. We will also have the occasion to purchase attire more adapted to the weather once we arrive in the northern part of the Land of Fire."

Gaara and the Kazekage had brought nothing but the minimum food, clothing and weapons required, since they needed to travel light to be able to move quickly and undetected by rogue shinobi.

The two men started on their agonizingly long trip, their movements fast and fairly synchronized.  
Not a single word was exchanged during the whole time the pair traveled, except for when the Kazekage would call for a water break or meal time.

The silence wasn't awkward, as it was a ritual of theirs since the Kazekage's first assassination attempt to never speak to each other unless they had to.  
However, the atmosphere was slightly off. Gaara knew that it was because he was quietly hoping that one of them would say something... anything.  
He knew that, if his father was going to assassinate him, he wasn't going to do it before the meeting with the Raikage because the man was not going to kill his only bodyguard. So that left him with at least another week of life plus the duration of the meeting. The redhead had no idea what to think of that. It was a mixture of anger, fear, disappointed and determination.

"It's enough for today!" shouted the Kazekage as a small village came into their view. It was located between two large mountains and had a river flowing through the middle of it. They had arrived in the Land of Valleys.  
Since the two travelers were dressed like any other civilian, they passed unnoticed and managed to rent a room in an inn for the night.

After cleaning up, the Kazekage turned to face Gaara.  
"Don't wander around too much. Try to rest. Don't kill anyone." ordered the man.  
The boy frowned slightly.  
"I won't."

The Kazekage gave his son one last look before setting his biological clock to wake him up in seven hours. He might not trust Gaara to be sane or in control, however, he knew that the child was not an idiot. The redhead was not going to attempt to murder him, or anyone else, when he was surrounded by unknown people from another country. For all they knew, some of them might be incognito shinobi like them.

Gaara spent the whole night doing what he did best.  
He stared at the moon, took short walks and made sure to keep Shukaku from taking over his mind.

* * *

The Kazekage gasped, shooting up to a sitting position on his bed. He took deep breaths to calm his erratic heart-beat.

"Not again with these hellish nightmares..." groaned the man, trying to erase the images of Gaara's bloody, tear-strained face from his mind. Why did it always seem so real? The dreams had gotten better once his children had returned safe and sound, but it had only gone downhill from there once the council had ordered him to kill his son.  
Every night since then, his mind showed him exactly what it would be like if he accomplished his mission. And it made him dread the moment more and more.

The man slipped out of bed and got himself ready for another day of traveling. The second he stepped outside of the room, Gaara silently appeared in a swirl of sand, ready to go as well.  
After another half hour, they left the inn, starting on the second day of their journey.

* * *

During the second day, the pair stopped for a three hour training session.

The Kazekage was secretly impressed at how well Gaara seemed to control his sand. However, a part of him was horrified, as this would make justifying murdering the boy to his conscience much harder. Then again, he was a shinobi. They didn't have a conscience when they were required to do their job.

The third day was far more eventful than the first two.

The Kazekage and Gaara were racing full speed through the thick forest that grew in the the Land of Fire. The village leader was not bothering to look anywhere but straight forward. Suddenly, he heard a grunt, a whoosh and then something, or someone, crashed into the redhead. The object was traveling at an incredible speed and threw Gaara through the forest until he disappeared from his father's line of sight.  
The man halted.  
"Gaara!" he shouted, jumping to the forest floor. "Gaara!"  
No reply came. He quickly turned on his heels and followed the trees which had branches completely ripped off from the force of his son's body impacting them.

A feeling of dread filled his gut. What if it was a rogue-nin? What if Gaara was already dead?  
A shock of fear pieced his heart, but his mind tried to push it away. If Gaara died now, it would make his job so much easier. If he carried on traveling this could be all over.  
No matter what the man made himself believe, his feet still moved towards where his son should be.

* * *

Gaara groaned and he slowly sat up, his back aching. He had never been more happy that the sand he carried would always automatically cushion his falls, or he would undoubtedly be severely wounded if not dead.

He slowly moved his head around the area, trying to find whatever had propelled him through the forest. His eyes landed on a green figured that was lying in the ground, moaning in pain.  
Gaara slowly scooted over to the thing before realizing that it was actually a boy of about his age.

The jinchuuriki roughly jabbed his finger into the person's shoulder.  
The boy gasped, rolled onto his back and sat up in front of Gaara, his eyes wide.  
"Ah! I am so sorry! Sensei was teaching me how to build up speed and I got carried away! Oh, I am so sorry! Are you hurt?" cried the boy, getting too close to Gaara for comfort.

The redhead backed away a little and realized with utter confusion that the boy had large caterpillars on his face. Then he realized that those were the stranger's eyebrows. Gaara shivered internally.  
"I am not." he growled, slightly furious at the boy for being so careless.  
The green clad ninja's face suddenly erupted into a smile so bright that Gaara was taken aback.  
"I am glad to hear that!" laughed the boy. "My name is Rock Lee, Konoha's handsome devil!"

The redhead unconsciously slid a little away from this Lee person, biting back a mean remark that was trying slip off his tongue. No, he couldn't revert to his old, unsocial self. Plus, this was the first time that Gaara spoke to a person who's first reaction was to worry about him then smile at him.  
This was the ultimate proof that he was very, very far from Suna.  
"I am Gaara." replied the shinobi simply, knowing not to reveal where he was from in case this boy was actually a spy.

"Oh! How youthful! Gaara? That name means... Self-loving... demon..." Lee trailed off and Gaara feared a negative reaction. However, the boy laughed. "The poetry in that name is youthful!"  
What was Gaara supposed to say to that? He had no idea that meeting people could be so complex.  
"Thank you. The name Rock Lee... it means stone. Minerals, which compose sand. A type of aggregate." tried the redhead.

Judging by Lee's dumbfounded expression, Gaara presumed that he must have made a little error in his analysis. After an awkward second, the Konoha shinobi grinned.  
"That is interesting! What a youthful interpretation of my name! I see you enjoy geology?"  
The redhead silently begged someone, anyone, to come save him from this curious boy who kept saying 'youthful' and prodding into his business.

Thankfully, his prayers were heard.  
"Lee, you complete fool! Why did you-..." A boy with long, dark hair and pale lavender eyes stopped in his tracks when he saw Gaara. "You crashed into someone?"  
"Yes! I crashed into youthful Gaara-kun here! He is knowledgeable on geology! Let's inquire more about that hobby of his!" announced Lee.  
A girl appeared from the trees and grabbed the green clad boy by the collar.  
"No, Lee! You can't just have random conversations with passers during survival training!" growled the girl before giving Gaara an apologetic look. "Please forgive my teammate! He lacks coordination... and discretion. I hope you weren't hurt?"

Gaara shook his head, a little overwhelmed by all of these new people. To his horror, a larger version of Rock Lee crashed through the trees.  
"LEEEEE!" hollered the man, punching his look alike in the face, sending him tumbling to the forest floor. "What did I say about losing focus!?"  
Lee got off the floor, sniffling. The girl and the long haired boy rolled their eyes, obviously used to seeing this scenario.  
"G-Gai-sensei!" cried Rock Lee. "I am so sorry!"  
Then, the two green clad ninja started hugging, tears flowing, sunlight glowing and rainbows showing.

Gaara decided that, if this was what acquaintances from Konoha were like, he would gladly stay friendless for now.

"Well, who is this youthful gentleboy?" grinned 'Gai-sensei'.  
"Gaara, nice to meet you." managed the jinchuuriki, grinding his efforts at politeness out from between his teeth.  
"Well, Gaara-kun, this is your lucky day! You have met I, Gai, sensei of these three younglings in front of you! The handsome one is Lee! The youthful beauty here is Tenten! And that's Neji." introduced the man. "Why are you in this forest surrounding our village?"

"We were just passing by. We're travelers." explained the redhead.  
"We?" asked the boy called Neji.

As soon as the word left the girlish looking boy's lips, the four people heard someone shouting somewhere not too far away.  
"GAARA! Where are you?"

Everyone turned to look at the redhead.  
"Well, he sounds worried!" suggested Tenten.  
Gaara flinched, but nodded and was about to shout 'Lord Kazekage'. However, he stopped himself just in time. It was better to keep their status secret. These strangers could be dangerous, or at the very least insane.  
The redhead swallowed.  
"FATHER!" called Gaara for the first time in six years. He frowned at how strange that felt. The word tasted like a combination of bile, acid and warmth.

A few seconds later, the Kazekage came rushing through the trees.  
"Gaara! There you are-..." he noticed that his son had company. "Ah. Good day."  
Gai ran over to the other man and enthusiastically shook his hand. The Kazekage's eyes widened in confusion.  
"Good day to you too! My youthful student accidentally bumped into your son so we were getting to know him! He is so full of youth!" laughed Gai.  
"Ah. That's nice. Well, I don't want to seem rude, but we are on a tight schedule and we have got to go. We were traveling through on our way to the north." explained the Kazekage, taking out his permission slip and showing it to the adult with monstrous brows.  
Gai didn't even glance at the paper.  
"No need to worry, it was nice meeting the youthful Gaara and your... middle-aged self! Well, I understand that you have business so we will return to our training! Have a youthful day!"

"Good-bye, my red-haired acquaintance and his handsome father!" waved Lee.  
The Kazekage and Gaara both flinched every time someone mentioned the word 'father'.  
"Hope to see you again, Gaara-san and his father!" smiled Tenten.  
"..." Neji didn't smile. "Nice meeting you. If we ever meet again, I pray for it to be in a more dignified scenario." The boy then turned to give Lee a dangerous glare.

The Konoha team turned and disappeared through the forest, leaving nothing but dust and an uncomfortable silence.  
Gaara nervously chewed on his tongue, holding in his emotions. However, the Kazekage didn't bother as much. He let out a low snigger, starting to walk back to where he and his son had been before being distracted.  
"The shinobi from Konoha seem to have an unhealthy obsession with the color green." he muttered, loud enough so that Gaara could hear. The boy blinked.  
"Maybe it helps them blend into the trees?" suggested Gaara, only feeling slightly guilty for making fun of the first people who did not judge him.

His father cracked a smile, though he made sure that his son couldn't see it.  
Deep inside his heart, under layers of emotional training, the truth was screaming at him.  
When he thought that Gaara was dead again, he was horrified. He had starting running around the area, shouting his son's name, desperately hoping to see a shock of red hair or even Gaara's furious gaze. Anything would be better than ignoring what had happened to his boy.  
However, now that they were back on their route, he was once again longing for rogue-nin or bandits to come finish his job for him, so that his conscience would take a smaller blow.

* * *

**Technicalities:**

**I spent a long time studying the map of the Naruto-verse to calculate how long this trip would take. I realized that, to get to the Land of Water (as needed in the beginning of ANISHWY), the pier in that story would have needed to be located somewhere on the eastern border of the Land of Fire, further away from Suna than Konoha is. However, it is said that it takes 3 days for a shinobi to travel from Suna to Konoha (I guess around 40~45 hours of running + sleep and rest), so that created a problem in terms of geography and time (I take geography seriously) since their trip to the pier only took Gaara and his team only two whole days and until noon of the third day (around 35~38 hours of running + sleep and rest) and it took the search party less than two days with no rest (~ 40 hours of non-stop running but with endurance). So that means that the trip to the pier would be shorter than a trip to Konoha, even if the distance is greater. I have found a way to explain it: to go to Konoha, you have to cut through the Land of River and who says rivers says valleys and mountains. So that's why the trip Suna-Konoha takes 3 days. If the Sand ****Siblings traveled through the River country and Fire country to get to the pier, they would do it closer to the shore so, therefore, the land would be flatter and they would need to make less detours. That's why the trip is faster even though the distance is greater :)  
Math nerds forever.  
The distance to the Land of Lightning was deduced knowing that there were probably mountains and forest slowing them down slightly.**

* * *

**So, yeah! A little humor to lighten up the depressive beginning of the chapter. Plus, they're going through the Land of Fire. I can't make it uneventful. Lee provides amazing comedic relief.**  
**Hope you enjoyed it and forgive me for the lateness! Have a good day/night/anything in between.**  
**Review for a cyber hug,**  
**XOXO ~~ HimekoUchia **


	4. Horror By Night

**Hello! Another chapter is ready! Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter!  
I don't own anything, so read on!**

* * *

At the end of the day, they hadn't been able to reach a village so were forced to set up camp in the Land of Fire forest.  
"You have nowhere to wander around tonight. Keep guard." ordered the Kazekage, lying down in his sleeping bag.  
Gaara nodded and sat underneath a tree. It slightly unnerved the village leader to think that the jinchuuriki would be up all night, watching him and that he would easily be able to kill him in his sleep.  
However, that danger didn't seem to register in the Kazekage's mind. It never had, though it had always been possible. The man knew that Gaara would never take the decision to hurt him because, unlike himself, the boy wasn't a heartless monster.

* * *

"No... He's mine! Give him back... Give 'im back... You can't take him from me!"

Gaara curiously and suspiciously watched as his father mumbled in his sleep. He had witnessed Temari do so before, but never the Kazekage. It was odd and made the adult seem strangely human.  
"Gaara..." The redhead's blood chilled when his name escaped his father's lips. "No. Don't let them! I won't let them, I promise..."

Was he dreaming about him? The boy frowned.  
What was he doing in his father's dream? Was he taking someone away from the Kazekage? Or was he the one being taken away? Probably the first suggestion, as he highly doubted that the man would be worried about him.

"He's _my _son... Don't take him! You can't take Gaara from me..."

The redhead chewed on his lip and looked away. It was about him.  
So, his father did somewhat care about him, even if it was unconscious and involved some sort of nightmare.  
That thought seemed alien in Gaara's head and, instead of warming up his heart it made him wish that his father would be like this when awake. Or at least shut up so that he wouldn't feel so uncomfortable.  
He knew that he shouldn't get used to hearing the Kazekage's protective words, as he would completely deny them.

"He's a hypocrite. He's such a hypocrite. He will always lie to me. Every time he speaks to me, it's just fake. He is the least honest person I know." the redhead said to himself and the demon in his head, glancing back to him father, who was still mumbling in his sleep. He felt his insides churn in hurt. "Sometimes, it might be a good thing."

* * *

On the fourth day of traveling, the duo arrived at a small village at the northern boarder of the Land of Fire. They went into the first clothing store they could find.

"Is it warm enough?" huffed the Kazekage, eyeing the cloak Gaara had on.  
"Yes." The redhead ran his hands along the fluffy inside of his garment, wondering why everything in the Land of Fire was softer than back at home.

The man nodded, chose a larger version of Gaara's cloak for himself then went to pay for both items.  
"Good choice! Traveling north, I presume?" smiled the saleswoman in a friendly manner.  
The Kazekage was in no mood for talking, but being rude was unacceptable for him, so he forced a slightly happier look onto his face.  
"Yes, we are. It's much colder up there than down here." agreed the man.  
"Well, have a great trip! Make sure that you are careful with your son, there! You two are so alike!" Both males flinched painfully. "When it snows, the UV rays reflect off of the ground and causes terrible sunburns. Since the young man is a ginger-... I mean, fair skinned, it is rather dangerous for him!"

The Kazekage frowned in confusion and glanced at Gaara. The boy just shrugged, having really no idea what to say. It's not like anyone had ever pointed out how pale he was before. However, since Gaara might lose his sand and therefor his ultimate protection against everything (including the sun), no amount of adaptation to the desert weather would change the fact that he was born with very, very red hair.  
The village leader looked back at the cashier, who was starting to look equally confused as the pair. Eventually, the man sighed.  
"I see. Could you get me something with a very high SPF?"

After paying again, the duo was about to leave the store when a clothing rack suddenly fell and blocked their way. Both males frowned.  
Out of nowhere, a screaming toddler ran past them, being chased by a furious father.  
"GET BACK HERE!" hollered the man, mumbling apologies to the Kazekage and Gaara.

The redhead frowned, realizing why Kankuro hated kids so much. The Kazekage gritted his teeth, having lost all of his patience when it came to annoying children a long time ago.  
He was lucky that his three kids were so were raised. None of them would run around screaming in a shop. Not even Gaara. Especially not Gaara.  
The Kazekage flicked his gaze over to his son, who was helping the cashier lady put the rack back in place. He felt a jolt of shock, not remembering the last time he witnessed his son being helpful or kind.  
Actually, he did remember very well.  
When the boy was young, before he had sent assassins after him, he was always offering aid to Yashamaru or even to random villagers. The Kazekage didn't forget how Gaara would come home practically in tears because another child had ran away screaming bloody murder when all the jinchuuriki had wanted to do was play.

Yes, his toddler had always been the sweetest kid anyone could ever ask for. Oh, how he had destroyed the boy... It scared the Kazekage to know that he once had the power to make his son crumble.  
However, now, looking at Gaara's determined eyes, he wasn't so sure he had that ability anymore.

* * *

On the fifth day, the pair traveled and trained during the day. That night, there were at an inn and Gaara was forced to stay indoors because of the biting cold outside.  
The Kazekage was starting to lose his mind.  
"NO! I'm sorry I hurt you! Gaara... don't leave!" groaned the Kazekage, turning over in his bed. The jinchuuriki glared in the dark and covered his ears. "I didn't want to! If I could take it back... I would... I would... You're my... son... I love you..."

Gaara nearly bit a hole through his tongue in shock. He hissed, his right hand instinctively scratching down the left side of his chest. His heart throbbed painfully.  
This wasn't medicine. It was poison!  
He didn't want to listen anymore. He didn't want to hear his father so vulnerable, spilling all of his secrets to him in his nightmares.  
"Why now?" sighed the boy. It was hard enough to stand his father's presence during the day, but now the redhead would have to continue acting stoic after witnessing the Kazekage cry in his sleep? This was too much for the boy to handle.

His whole life, he had wanted to see his father break down, regret his decisions, apologize, beg for forgiveness...  
But now, Gaara was shaking in horror. This was a feeling he never had before. Seeing your parent whimpering, scared, pathetic... It wasn't as satisfying as he had imagined it to be. In fact, it terrified the jinchuuriki. His father had always been so tough, it had made the boy learn how to keep up appearances himself.  
Since he knew the Kazekage's true feelings, it just made him realize that he had lived a pure and total lie. His father did love him. At least, he did in his sleep. When awake, he was so bitter, so cruel...

"Gaara... Please, don't leave-..."

The jinchuuriki cracked. He stormed over to his father's bedside and roughly nudged him in the shoulder.  
The Kazekage snapped awake. His eyes burned in panic. He instinctively reached out and grabbed his attacker's wrist.  
His grasp wasn't tight enough to cause Gaara any pain and the sand immediately piled around the Kazekage's hand. However, the skin contact was enough to completely eradicate any drop of adrenaline left in the redhead's system. The jinchuuriki's breath hitched in fear.

After a second, recognition filled the Kazekage's gaze, before being replaced with anger.  
"What are you doing, Gaara?" he snarled.  
The boy flinched. A minute ago, his father was unconsciously so loving and protective. Now, he was terrifying him. Six years ago, Gaara would have dropped his gaze in shame and mumbled a 'sorry'.  
However, the redhead was pass being apologetic his father.

"You talk in your sleep and it's annoying." stated the boy simply, managing to keep a straight face despite his fear.

The Kazekage blinked. When he realized what Gaara was saying, he let go of his son's wrist as if it had burned his palm. He watched, mortified, as the sand crawled back into the gourd.  
What had the boy heard? Judging by the aura around the jinchuuriki, he presumed that it was something incriminating. Did he reveal that he was going to kill him? Or was it something even harder to explain?  
He suddenly remembered what he had been dreaming about. Oh, no.  
"If it bothers you, leave!" hissed the man, his defense mechanism kicking in.

Gaara ground his teeth together. His heart throbbed agonizingly against his rib cage. His hurt was immediately replace in fury.  
"Fine." he deadpanned, turning on his heels, wrenching the door open forcefully but silently and disappearing out the room.

The Kazekage waiting for a few seconds before the feelings of regret started to sink in. He sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes, exhausted.  
He couldn't believe it. He had just kicked the boy out for waking him up from a nightmare. If Gaara had actually touched someone like him, it probably meant that his sleep-talking had been making the redhead very uncomfortable.  
He had just shouted at his son for stopping him from embarrassing himself further.

With a sigh, he lay back down in bed. If Gaara was gone, then so were his problems. It was so much better like this. The Kazekage blinked.  
Was the boy wearing enough clothing? It was freezing outside. What if he got sick? Could he even get a cold?  
The man moaned, rubbing his forehead. At this rate, it was going to be impossible for him to fall back asleep.

* * *

The Kazekage had been quietly relieved to see Gaara completely fine in the morning. The rest of the sixth day was spent in horribly awkward silence, even during the training. Since the temperature was glacial, the man had made sure to have rooms available.  
That night, the Kazekage had forced himself to stay awake, terrified of falling asleep and facing the possibility of him blabbing something else to Gaara. It was impossibly difficult and he wondered how his son had managed to remain so alert for twelve years.

The boy had sensed that his father never went to sleep. Halfway through the night, the jinchuuriki decided to spare his parent the pain. He quietly stood up and left the room. He didn't want his father to be tired in the morning. If he was, and it rained, then there would be higher chances of them being attacked if the Kazekage wasn't in the best shape possible.

* * *

The seventh day was mistaken by Gaara as being relatively uneventful. What he didn't know was that, in his father's head, the man was plotting on how to kill him as soon as possible. The Kazekage was coming to the edge of his sanity, not having well handled the nightmares of the past evening. He felt his mind bleeding, his heart freezing and his resolved hardening.

That night, the man dimmed his chakra signal to feign sleep. He had enough of the dreams, the insomnia, the pain. He was going to do it now. It had started to rain outside so, any minute now, Gaara was going to walk into the room.

And he did. The redhead quickly slipped into the small hotel bedroom, glad to have his sand still intact from the storm that was starting to brew outside. The Kazekage silently watched as Gaara sighed, placed his gourd on the floor and sat on a chair, his face in his hands.  
The man's hand tightened around a kunai and focused his chakra onto his pouch of gold.

Suddenly, a loud bang was heard and a shock of lightning illuminated the room.  
Gaara's fearful face shone for a second before the room was once again plunged into almost darkness. The Kazekage could see that the boy wrapped himself in his cloak, looking mildly content at being in relative warmness.

Gaara grunted in pain. His father's free hand clenched into his pillow, panicked at the thought that his son might have realized that he wasn't really asleep. The feeling was replaced by one of relief when Gaara didn't even look at him, then overwhelmed by one of sheer horror when the boy started talking.  
"No, mother." spoke the redhead gently to the demon in his head, obviously far from being completely sane. "The storm can't hurt us this time..."  
Gaara frowned, shook his head and walked to the window. His eyes cleared, realization sinking in.  
"Not mother. Shukaku. Stop being a nuisance."

The Kazekage eyed the boy as he waited for the demon to respond. Gaara took a shaky breath and turned around, facing his father. The jinchuuriki started to walked towards his parent.  
The man's eyelids closed into even smaller slits, his fear not superior to his shock.

Gaara was going to kill him. After all of these years, the boy had suddenly decided to get his revenge. The Kazekage had never believed that the kid could actually do it, but he guessed that he was wrong in assuming that Gaara wasn't a monster after all-...

The man's thoughts were cut off when his son simply sat besides his bed. Not close enough for him to be in his personal space, but close enough for him to feel his warm chakra.  
Confusion filled the Kazekage's mind as he watched as the boy started to take deep breaths, eyes shut and head leaned against the wall.  
Gaara's eyes opened and a look of triumph filled them.  
"You always were quieter around him, Shukaku..." hummed the jinchuuriki. "You're afraid of him too."

The Kazekage frowned. This was horribly unfair. He could practically feel Gaara's peaceful aura and the heat radiating off of his small body.  
How was he supposed to murder his son in cold blood now? He had never seen Gaara so adorable in six years. He wouldn't be able to kill him tonight.

But he had to! The man pressed his lips into a firm line.  
_No... No. I need him at the meeting. I can't turn up alone, I will be assassinated on spot. We're arriving tomorrow anyways, we'll have separate rooms them and I can finish this on the way back._  
The Kazekage was glad that he had found a plausible excuse to justify himself for not killing Gaara. For the first time in a few days, the man managed to sleep without sleep-talking, with his unknowing son's warmth making him completely forget about the loud storm outside.

* * *

The girl tapped on the door. When she was met with silence, she carefully opened the door and slipped inside the Kazekage's office. She carefully locked the exit behind her and ran towards the desk, rummaging through shelves, drawers and leafing through piles of paper.

Eventually, Temari found it.  
"Minutes from a meeting a few days ago?" she whispered, scanning through the page. Her breath caught and she felt a weight drop to the bottom of her stomach as her eyes focused on the last lines.

_Ultimatum:  
Condition: Gaara must disappear.  
Consequence if condition not met: replacement of the Kazekage with a person more fit for the job._

"Oh no... This is bad..." she gasped, picking up another stack of paper. This one was the sign up sheets for the chuunin exams. It had her, Kankuro and Gaara names scribbled on them.  
Narrowing her gaze, the kunoichi noticed that the ink was smudged.  
"He was crying..." said Temari monotonously, he eyes widening in surprise. Their father wasn't going to kill Gaara. He wasn't going to be able to do it this time. At least, the girl hoped not. "He tried to get us out of the village safely but the council stopped him... They can easily cancel our attendance to any exams we join."

Temari sighed and slumped into the Kazekage's large chair. She placed her elbows on the table and sat her chin on her crossed fingers, slipping into deep thought.  
No matter how much animosity she held for her father, he had tried to save Gaara. She knew that any replacement for the Kazekage was going to be vicious towards her brother, probably enjoying the thought of having to assassinate the boy.  
Temari shivered. It would definitely still be for the best if her father remained leader of Sunagakure.

What could be done? What could she do to keep the council from harming both her brother and father?  
The kunoichi carefully rearranged the papers on the desk, grabbed a blank sheet of paper and the quill from the inkwell used for formal letters. She started to write.  
Was this going to work? Temari hoped so.

* * *

**Ahah! What is Temari doing? How can she save her family? You'll have to stay with me until the end of the story to find out! XD  
So major cuteness, sadness, pain and family angst here... I love making Gaara adorable but vicious and the Kazekage cruel but conflicted.  
Hope you liked it! Review and tell me what you thought of it! Por favor!  
Love,  
XOXO ~~~ HimekoUchia (so much rain... it's been raining for 2 weeks straight.)**


	5. Demonic Empathy

**Hola guys *gets shot*. Oh my goodness, sorry for the lateness. We finally finished exams but then teachers dumped projects on us. Oh well, at least we don't have too many tests anymore. Almost the end of the year! I will mellllltttt! It's hot! I'm scared of getting older...  
So, sorry for the wait, thanks for the reviews! Last time, the duo was making its way to Kumo and had many awkward nights with the Kazekage talking in his sleep.**

* * *

The Kazekage and Gaara hiked a whole day through icy mountains before arriving at the gates of the Village Hidden in the Clouds. They were lucky that snow hadn't fallen yet or they could have been caught in a storm before even making it to the village alive.  
A young man with curly black hair let them in after checking their visas and passports. He bowed deeply.  
"It is an honor to meet Lord Kazekage and his..." he stared at Gaara.  
"Bodyguard." deadpanned the Kazekage.  
"Really? He is so young!" gasped the Cloud shinobi, looking at the jinchuuriki up and down.  
"Sunagakure youth is of utmost quality." shrugged the village leader, a hint Suna pride in his voice.  
"I see, I see... I was assigned to wait for your arrival. I will bring you to the Raikage Tower and let you get settled before I'll go announce your arrival to my boss." explained the black haired man, leading the duo through another series of mountains, this time with houses and platforms built into them.

This was Gaara's first time in a foreign village and he was not very comfortable with the looks he received, though he was glad that they were merely curious. He also didn't really like the fact that he was walking over a huge valley with nothing but a concrete bridge separating him from a deep pit of darkness. However, he was fascinated as he had never seen such peculiar architecture before.

The Kazekage particularly hated Kumogakure. He didn't like being up in the mountains. It was far too cold and because of the constantly overcast sky he could never see where he was going. He really did miss Sunagakure's hot and dry climate as well as the village's smooth and sandy ground.

Both desert ninjas were ushered into the largest building in the area, which had a large 'lightning' character on it.  
Their guide showed them their assigned guest rooms. With a last bow, he left the two visitors to settle.  
They each went into their own separate chamber, both noticing that the rooms were furnished for royalty.

They removed their extra layers of clothing, but kept their weapons on them.  
No smart shinobi trusted a soul.

* * *

The next day, they were summoned for their meeting.

Since the Kazekage had one bodyguard, the Raikage decided to pick one of his loyal followers to be his only companion during the meeting, as having too many shinobi surrounding him would make his guest wary and uncomfortable, therefore ruining their chances at having a good deal.

"B, you stay. The rest of you wait outside." ordered the Lighting Village leader. A muscly man with dark skin, sunglasses and a friendly grin stepped over besides his boss.  
"Yo, yo, thank you for picking me! We should always stay together, just A and B!" rapped the man, making both the Kazekage and Gaara give a slightly confused look. People were... eccentric outside of Suna.

"Well, we should start as soon as possible." said the Suna Leader, clearing his throat. 'A' nodded. "So, the situation is..."

Three hours later, the two Kages had finally concluded their meeting. The Kazekage had placed a large order of water to be delivered to Suna and the Raikage was going to received quite a sum of gold in exchange.  
B was yawning and Gaara had started to shuffle a little, since he wasn't used to standing up for hours on end. Suddenly, the Kumo-nin gave the redhead a long stare from behind his shades.  
The boy nodded in acknowledgment and tried to ignore the man's hidden gaze. Before he could wonder why he was being inspected, B threw a paper ball at Gaara without being caught by the Kages.

The projectile grazed his shoulder gently, not activating his sand. The redhead was internally mortified as he had never seen a grown man act so childish (apart from Gai).  
B held up 8 fingers, a serious look on his face.

Gaara stared back, confused. 8? 8 what? Was he trying to guess his age? That was more than a little off...  
B shook his head and positioned one of his arms behind his back, waving it around to imitate a tail.

The redhead's eyes widened.  
This man! This man was also possessed by a tailed demon? Gaara was invaded with a mixture of surprise and awe. For the first time in his life, he realized that he might not be so alone after all.  
He held up 1 finger.

"AHAH!" laughed B, jolting the Kages' attention to him. "I knew it! The boy is a demon host too! I could read his eyes of loneliness, through and through! Brother, you see that?"  
The two leaders frowned, stared at B, then at an uncomfortable Gaara, then back at a grinning B again.

"Interesting. What a coincidence that we are all here. I do remember Sunagakure being in possession of a tailed beast as well. I had no idea it was sealed in this child, though." grumbled the Raikage.  
The Kazekage sensed the tension dancing in the atmosphere and stood up.  
"Yes, it is. He's my second in command right now. Well, since we have come to an agreement, Lord Raikage, we will prepare our departure back to Suna. We will leave tomorrow." replied the Kazekage icily.

B obviously chose to ignore the tension.  
"Aw naw! C'mon, bro, I haven't met anyone else like me since Yugito Nii! Let the kid stay, or at least hang around me!" rapped the man, patting his boss on the shoulder.  
The Kazekage and Gaara were both mortified at how casually B was treating his superior, especially when their guests were still in their meeting room.  
The redhead mentally sighed. A and B seemed to get along so well... It made the boy miss his siblings. He couldn't get along with his own 'boss'... Let alone his 'father'.  
He glanced at his parent, only to find the man looking at him. Both of them darted their eyes away from each other, surprised.

It seemed that, in the face of adversary, the unknown or simply strange people, they seemed to think along the same lines.  
The Kazekage and Gaara both loathed to admit that.

* * *

That night was a heterogeneous mix of anxiety and relief for the two Suna shinobi. They were glad to have their own room for once, and not have to be in the others company. However, divided, they were half as strong and being in another village was always a risk to a person's safety.  
They couldn't even trust each other, how could they trust these Kumo-nin?

Thankfully for them, the night was uneventful and no one entered their rooms.

* * *

"So here is our academy, where we train the toddlers! They learn to climb wall and pick up boulders!" sang B, pointing to a building to the two Suna-nins' right. The man had been hell-bent to be the one to give the two guests a brief tour of the village, since he had wanted to spend as much time as possible with Gaara, for a reason that the redhead couldn't fathom.  
One thing was for sure, the Kazekage and his son were on their nerves' end with B's constant rapping. How could he rhyme every _single_ thing he said? It was incredible and frustrating to the point of being borderline stab-worthy.

By sundown that day, the visit was finally over. When the duo tried to go pack their belongings, B dragged them to dinner, not being particularly discreet about his need for Gaara's company for as long as he could manage it. Eventually, the redhead cracked.  
He waited for the Kazekage to excuse himself to the bathroom before asking B the question that had been gnawing at his mind.  
"Why have you remained in my company more than necessary?" asked the boy as politely as he could manage. When the man opened his mouth to reply, he hastily added. "Please, in prose."

The Kumo-nin closed his mouth and dropped his permanent grin. He sighed and leaned forward on the table.  
"Because, you and I, we are almost in the same situation. Being a jinchuuriki, it ain't easy at all. It can be dark." hummed the man.  
"Lonely. I used to be very lonely." added Gaara quietly. "But it's better for me now. I now have a closer relationship with my siblings."  
The redhead didn't know why he was spilling his story to this B. Maybe because it was the first time in his life that he felt that the person listening to him could truly understand his pain.

"I was the same. I used to play pranks all the time to get noticed. But now, I have a bond with my brother-from-another-mother, A. The Raikage. We're close." explained B.  
"I noticed. That's... nice." nodded Gaara, feeling a soft stab of jealousy in his heart. He now wished he were that close to his boss... his father... he truly did.

Just as he thought of the man, the Kazekage returned, shutting the two jinchuurikis up for the rest of the evening. The leader noticed that the atmosphere was now filled with a sense of friendly conspiracy, which he was completely excluded from.

* * *

The next day, B and a border guard had walked Gaara and his father to the exit of the village.  
"Have a save trip back, Lord Kazekage and Gaara-sama." bowed the unfamiliar man.  
"Yes! Make it back in one piece to Suna! So long, red, it was real nice knowing yah!" rapped the jinchuuriki, making the border guard chuckled and face palm.

The two desert dwellers waved their goodbyes and strolled peacefully through the mountains.  
Or, at least, to Gaara, it felt peaceful.

The Kazekage felt as if he was walking on knives. And he just wanted to let them stab him until his blood ran dry. It would hurt less than the slashing in his heart.  
_That's it. The meeting is over. I've got to kill him. I've got to kill him now. Otherwise, I'll never be able to do it. The council will... I can't even imagine. I have to... murder Gaara. Soon. Quickly. With gold? Suffocate him? Stab him? Behead h-...?_ The father shivered in disgust at those images. _No. Oh, no... How will I do it? Can I?_  
The man gulped as he kept on traveling down the path, his eyes never leaving his son's face. The boy seemed to be deep in thought, but his eyes illuminated with a mixture of excitement, fear and awe when flakes of white started floating down towards the duo.

"Snow..." whispered the redhead. "It's cold... But is this bad?"  
"It's bad. It's very bad." growled the Kazekage. "We have to hurry up. A storm is coming."

* * *

**Dun dun dun dun! Guess what? The next chapter is almost written!  
Hope you liked this lighthearted chapter! It changes from all the darkness. Don't worry, angst lovers, the next chapter will make people feel... ahah. Negative feelings. You'll see.  
Review if you want, readers!  
Have a nice day/night!  
~~~ XOXO HimekoUchia**


	6. When Defending One You Love

**Sorry for the late wait. I had a school trip to Ningxia, China and was just handling the weirdness of another school year pass... I am actually more horrified that excited. Another year? Two more until I graduate... So much to study for... Wow.**  
**So, last chapter, the Kazekage and Gaara leave Kumogakure and are making their way back to Suna when the snow starts to fall.**  
**I don't own anything except for my imagination.  
Warning!... this chapter will be disturbing for some people. It involves physical and 'suggestive' assault. Nothing M-rate but still gruesomely fun to write. ]:)**

* * *

"Hurry up! We need to make it to the inn! We can't camp in this weather!" shouted the Kazekage, receiving a curt nod from Gaara in return. "Let's focus on making it to shelter. We'll train before midday tomorrow."  
_I'll kill him when that time comes!_ decided the man.

The snow was still falling. After a few hours, the sand in Gaara gourd started to coagulate and fall off in chunks. The redhead's heart jolted in fear, staring at his crumbling defense in horror.  
The Kazekage had his eye on his son, but feigned ignorance to the fact that the redhead was becoming more and more vulnerable by the second. His gold was safe in his pouch, so he could use it anytime. To protect them from potential enemies. Or attack Gaara.

They eventually made it to a small hotel. The Kazekage excused himself to bed as early as he could, needing to mentally prepare himself for the coming day.  
The redhead sensed the dark aura surrounding his father and decided it safer to explore the surroundings, wrapped warmly in his winter coat, than to stay in a confined space with his sleeping parent.

* * *

When the morning came, the Kazekage found himself staring at the ceiling in horror.  
_Get up. Get up and do your damn job!_ he seethed, his fists clenching his sheets. He willed himself to get out of bed and get ready. He opened the door to his room and stepped out.  
He closed his eyes, hoping that Gaara had the sense to escape during the night. But once he fluttered his lids open, he could see his redheaded son staring up at him with a hard gaze, ready to take on the world.

"Let's go..." muttered the man, his gold suddenly weighing heavier than the day before.

After six hours of traveling, the duo stopped in a forest, the morning dew frozen on the trees so that their surroundings looked like a crystal jungle.

Gaara had reformed his gourd the night before, but the soft snow drifting to the ground was slowly decomposing it again, this time at a much quicker rate since the sand wasn't properly infused with his chakra. The jinchuuriki placed his precious defense under a small white bush to prevent further damage to it.  
"Taijutsu." huffed the Kazekage, readying his sparring stance.

The redhead took up a his fighting position, nervous inside, though his face remained blank. This was the first time that he was training his hand-to-hand combat without his sand automatically protecting him. Because of the snow, the minerals would never reach him fast enough.

The Kazekage launched himself violently at Gaara, fist ready to knock the boy out. The redhead's composure suddenly gave way and he flinched to the side, avoiding the attack.  
The man turned in surprise, glancing at his son's eyes that only reflected a fraction of the fear he was feeling. His father had gold. His father was physically more powerful. His father was ruthless.  
What was he supposed to learn from a sparring session with him? Gaara didn't understand.

The boy watched as his father reached behind him and slowly drew out a kunai. He grabbed his own, ready to deflect his leader's projectiles, but something simply wasn't right about the man's expression, about the way his father was looking at him. His gaze was usually reproachful or thoughtful. Not forcefully blank. Not... murderous...

Gaara tightened his hold and started taking wary steps back, his face starting to show determination and anger, trying to hide terror. He knew what was going on. He knew that this time would come.  
He was just hoping that the Kazekage would reconsider. He did everything he possibly could.  
_Is there nothing I can do to impress you? Nothing I can do to make you forgive my past mistakes?_ asked Gaara to himself, desperation starting to seep into his system. He couldn't beat his father and he was aware of that.

"Get ready." snapped the man, raising his arm.  
A kunai slashed out and knicked Gaara's coat, making the redhead frown in confusion as he watched the weapon his father was still holding.  
"What...?" the redhead started, but when the Kazekage realized what was happening, it was far too late.

Two dozen shinobi burst through the trees, launching kunai at the duo. The Kazekage protected himself with gold whilst Gaara managed to deflect most of the blade, except for two that sliced through his hair and the fabric of his pants. His sand... his sand was now covered in snow.

It had started storming once again.

The Kazekage quickly scanned the attackers. Where they from the land of Lighting? Or from another nearby shinobi nation, sent to ambush them? They weren't wearing headbands. Could they be Sound ninjas? No, they were on good terms with that village...

Gaara, however, wasn't fully aware of his country's political situation, so he jumped to the most obvious conclusion there was. His father had sent shinobi to take him out for him. Again.  
"You are a coward." hissed the redhead, hatred clear in his voice. The Kazekage didn't have the time to be shocked at the boy's painful words.

The enemies jumped at them. The Suna-nin had no choice but to fight them off with kunai and taijutsu, since the Kazekage's gold dust didn't travel fast enough in the snow storm. The man managed to wound four of them whilst only getting cut on the arms from defending himself.  
Gaara, however, wasn't so used to fighting this way. He stabbed a ninja before feeling himself getting overpowered. He concentrated all his chakra into his gourd until a small amount of it managed to escape the snowy prison surrounding it, defending Gaara against his attackers.

One of the shinobi laughed at the jinchuuriki.  
"That's cute." he sneered, doing hand-signs. "Water style! Water snake jutsu!"  
Gaara could only grind his teeth as the freezing cold serpent showered his sand and hit him in the chest, shoving the air out of his lungs with a gasp and throwing him on the icy ground. He wasn't sure if the crack her heard was of his impact with the ground or of a bone snapping. In less than a second, five ninja had grabbed the boy, one of them lodging a kunai in Gaara's arm to prevent the jinchuuriki from thrashing about. The redhead cried out in pain, gluing his eyes to his wound in horror. He watched in morbid fascination as the crimson blood soaked through his coat, creating a huge red patch on his cloths.

A man grabbed the boy's arm and twisted it behind Gaara's back until an agonized scream made its way from behind the redhead's ground teeth.

The Kazekage spun around, hoping and wishing for the worst. The attackers suddenly stopped moving and circled the village leader and his son. The storm kept on blaring above their heads, making white snow dance down to the ground around them, completely ignorant of the dilemma going on.  
The man watched as an enemy yanked on the roots of Gaara's hair. The boy desperately tried to shake and kick his captors off, but it was in vain since two more people came over to help hold him down.  
"Damn, this pip-squeak is stronger than he looks!" chuckled the man holding the boy's hair. He tugged on it until Gaara's pale neck was exposed. He pressed a frozen blade to one side of the redhead's throat threateningly, making the jinchuuriki's eyes suddenly calm in resignation.  
He darted his gaze to his father accusingly. This was it. This was what that man had wanted all along.

"Not a single move, Lord Kazekage, or your son will live a very short life." laughed the man holding Gaara's hair, obviously the squad's leader.  
The Sunagakure-nin decided to obey for now, not wanting to see Gaara hurt by complete strangers who seemed to know not only his political, but his familial status as well.  
"A gold user, are you?" hummed the man. "I doubt you have enough will and strength to lift the gold through this weather. However, those fruity Konohagakure-nin believe that power comes form wanting to protect your loved ones. How strong is your will, Lord Kazekage?"

The man took a breath before continuing.  
"We heard that you absolutely despise your son..." Gaara's eyes squeezed shut for a second, the remark still biting him despite his situation. The Kazekage just watched. "But we doubt that! You Suna shinobi pride yourselves on being so tough and cold, but we say... You're just as weak and emotional as those filth from Konoha! Love makes you stronger? Well... what if they are right? You see, we came to test this theory on you!" the man finished with a kind, deranged smile.

The Kazekage faltered. They were going to kill Gaara. What could he do to protect him?  
"I think that Konoha's theory might be correct. Protecting those you love does make you stronger. However, if you are trying to test it out here, I suggest you just let the boy go. He has not a shred of love from me." snapped the man, ignoring the the crestfallen glare the redhead send him.

The attackers stared at the village leader in silence. Their ringleader laughed again.  
"Hah! You think we actually believe that? This brat is your son! Come on, daddy, show a little heart..." smirked the man. Suddenly, a glint of pure evil shone in his eyes.  
Under the Kazekage's horrified gaze, the unknown ninja lowered his face so that it was at the same level as Gaara's. When the jinchuurki instinctively flinched away, the man gently ran his kunai up and down the redhead's neck, leaving a thin trail of blood, reminding Gaara in which position he was.

"Shhh... Stop fighting back." said the man, his smile sugary sweet but his voice poisonous. "Hm. Your father isn't really nice, is he? I bet that you have world class daddy problems. Lack of attention. Lack of love." He leaned closer to whisper in Gaara's ear, loud enough for the Kazekage to hear. The boy's composure was crumbling and his eyes were starting to widen in fear. "Why don't I help you with those, my child?"

The words were like a lead sword plunged into the Kazekage's stomach. His whole body shook in revulsion. His eyes were stuck to Gaara's small, shivering frame.  
Even the sick pervert's teammates were starting to look a little uncomfortable with their leader's antics.

The man chuckled lightly and brought his face back in front of the redhead's. He looked down at his victim's wide eyes, roughening tightening his hold on the boy's hair, watching in satisfaction as the child's face contorted in pain again.  
He started to bring his face down to Gaara's as the boy was frozen in spot, unable to move with the kunai still plastered against his throat.  
The man glanced back to the Kazekage who was as motionless as a statue and thoroughly mortified. With a last smirk, he leaned down, angling his kunai slightly out of his way.

He pressed his mouth to Gaara's pale neck, making the boy sharply inhale. He bit into it once, leaving aching teeth marks. He slowly dragged his tongue up the redhead's pulsing jugular vein, up Gaara's cheek and until the corner of the boy's eye, leaving a line of saliva that burned before turning painfully icy. The jinchuurki tried to keep a tough face, but his mask suddenly split in two.

For the first time in his life, Gaara sent a piteous, pleading look to his father. Tears were starting to leak out of the boy's eyes in utter terror. The Kazekage could read the hopeless words in them.  
_Please... Please don't let them do this to me..._  
The man felt as if someone had painfully yanked a chunk out of his heart.

The attacker had started to run his teeth along Gaara's cheekbones when he suddenly stopped. The man's eyes went wide, his hand and kunai were dragged away from the jinchuurki's throat by an unknown force. The redhead watched, confused.  
Blood dripped out of the man's mouth. It rained down onto the redhead's cloak and a few drops splashed onto his face.

Two dozens screams echoed through the clearing. The enemy shinobi all dropped to the ground.  
The Kazekage watched as their bodies gruesomely, slowly shredded until they were nothing but piles of lifeless raw flesh littered onto a white blanket of snow.

Gaara fell to his knees, gasping for air, fixating the pond of blood surrounding him. He was saved.  
He didn't know what was happening. A part of him was shocked that Shukaku hadn't even stirred. The demon had abandoned him in his time of need. He then remembered that there was still another person in the clearing with him.  
Slowly, the boy lifted his wet gaze to lock eyes with his father.

* * *

**Hey, I warned you. *hands you a barf bag***  
**You can all guess who saved Gaara. We need some more character development and what better way than to have some random ninja assault Gaara in a disgusting way? The identity of those ninja will be revealed in the next chapter, so patience, little minions.**  
**I don't know when the next time I will update is. I am pretty much done with the next chapter, but I am leaving to England for two weeks on a educational camp in Oxford (anyone gonna be there, by any chance? If so, search for me! I am taking the advanced math, psychology and debate classes in the BH course). Never been to England before. Can't wait!  
So leave a review to tell me how much I pissed you off or grossed you out! If you are truly revolted then it worked!  
Have a nice holiday,  
XOXO ~~~ HimekoUchia (ginger)**


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